Tube heating machine



Aug. 26, 1952 J. w. GARRETT 2,608,309

TUBE HEATING MACHINE Filed April 23, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l W h WNINVENTOR JAMES W. 5mm-:Tr Zwywvw ATTORNEY Aug. 26,1952 J. w. GARRETT2,608,309

TUBE HEATING MACHINE Filed April 2s, 1948 4 sheets-sneet 2 V TOR Im/:rsAnna-rr ATTORNEY WWWWMAMAAAAAAAAAAA A Aug. 26, 1952 J. w. GARRETT2,608,309

TUBE HEATING MACHINE Filed April 2s. 194s 4 sheets-sheet 5 lNVENTORJAMES W. BARRETT A TORNEY Aug- 25, 1952 J. w. GARRETT 2,608,309

TUBE: HEATING MACHINE Filed April 23, 194s 4 sheets-sheet 44 @'ZINVENTOR TAMESVV EARaEfr-r ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 26, `1952 f TUBEHEATING MACHINE James W. Garrett, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to vSelasCorporation of America, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaApplication April 23, 1948, Serial No. 22,931

The present invention relates to furnaces and more particularly to afurnace in which tubes, or` rods of various materials may be heated fordrying, annealing, softening, baking or other purposes. The invention isherein described as being a softening furnace for glass tubes as that isone'of the many uses for which it is adapted. In any case the operationwill `be the same, the difference being in the heat that is supplied forany given material' and the speed with which the tubes or rods are movedthrough the furnacel In the manufacture of curved Vfluorescent tubes for`lighting purposes it iscustomary first to coat the interior of the tubewith a fluorescent material, then to bake this material and soften thetubes so that they may be bent to shape. The furnace of the presentinvention will be described as being used for softening the tubes andbaking the lining prior to the time the tubes arebent to their finalform.

In the present invention there lis provided a furnace chamber which hasheat applied from the roof to objects to be heated that are movedprogressively through the chamber by a novel work forwarding mechanism.While the tubes are being moved through the furnace chamber they arealsorotated around their axes so that they will be evenly heated on allsides and Will not sag to change their shape.

It is an object of the invention to provide a heat treating machine inwhich tubes or rods may be rapidly heated to some desired temperature.It is a further object'of the invention to provide a heat treatingmachine in which tubes or rods are evenly heated on all sides as theyare moved through a heating zone.

It is an object of the invention to provide a work forwarding mechanismof novel design for moving` cylindrical objects through :a heating zoneof a furnace while rotating the objects. rThe Work forwarding mechanism.is characterized by a construction inlwhich the parts thereof willalways remain within the heating zone.` Because of this no heat is lostvas aresult of the movement of the tubes.

-It is Ia further object of the inventionto provide an apparatus forrapidly and evenly heating tubes or rods in which the heat loss isreduced toa minimum. With the apparatus of the present invention onlythose parts that are designed to withstand the high temperaturesdeveloped are subjected thereto `and they are not removed from theheated zone. The remaining parts and the operating mechanism :areloc-ated `cui; of the heated Zone? lsoiaims. (ol. 214-18) It is afurther object of the invention to providemechanism by means `of whichthe interior of the tubes being heated may be purged or treated withsome desired atmosphere while the heating is taking place. l y A Thevarious features of novelty which characterize `my invention are pointedout with par-` ticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part ofthis specification. For a better understanding of the invention,however, its advantages, and specic `objects `attained with its use.reference should be hadV to the accompanying drawingsvand descriptivematter in which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodimentof the invention. y j

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a section taken approximately on line l-I of Figure 2showing a sectional view of the furnaces and forwarding mechanism, and aside view of the drive means;

Figure 2 is a view taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a portion of the work forwarding mechanism; l

Figure 4 is a view taken from the left of Figure 3 showing a portion ofthe work forwarding grammatically the manner in which the Workforwardedthrough the furnace; Figure 6v `is a side View of a differentembodiment of the work forwarding mechanism; and Figure 7 is a top Viewof a portion of the em-` bodiment disclosed in Figure 6.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing it will be seen that themachine of the present invention includes a suspended roof I by means ofwhich the heat is supplied to the work as it is being forwarded througha furnace chamber which extends between the roof l and a `floor 2;Located in the chamber between the roof and the floor is a workforwarding mechanism 3 by means of which work to be heated is moved froma feeding zone on the left of the machine to the right of the machine,where the heated work is received by mechanism" to operate further uponit. The roof and floor are mounted on a suitable frame 4. f

The `roo-f is composed of a' number of structural steel members 5 which`aresuitably joined together. Extending between these members are plates6 to form a metal backing for the roof. The sides of the roof arecomposed of hollow castings l which extend fro-m one end to the otherthereof and form water cooled portions to protect the remaining part ofthe `mechanism from the heat. Across the front of the roof there is alsoprovided a hollow casting 8 which forms a water cooled front for theoutlet end of the machine. The metal framework described above has alining of heat insulating material I beneath which areastened refractorymembers 9 and burners II.V Therefractory blocks andthe burners aremounted within the framework of the roof so that the burners are locatedin rows across the same and in staggered relation to each other. I3 tobe moved in a counterclockwise direction from the normal position sho-wnin Figure 11,. ;'For

this purpose there is provided a ring I4 onthe upper porti-on of castingB through which a hook may be put so that a crane canlift the roof awayfrom the forwarding mechanism for inspection and adjustment of both theroof and theforwarding mechanism.

The endsof the rod I3 are mountedin bearings I5 that extend upwardlyfrom the rear portion ofthe framework of themachine. The frame alsoi-ncludesa pair of hollow castings' lr6 extending the entire lengththereof to'form water cooled sid-es. Y These v`castings are dividedVinto upper and. lower `'chambers .as shown in the drawing, betweenwhich thework supporting members'for the-work forwarding mechanismAextend into the furnace chamber.

From an Ainspection of Figure 2 it will beseen that A"in its-normaloperating position Ithe -roof is located-withrespect to theframework ofthe machine byf-means of vengagement 'between flanges I8 projecting fromthe castings 1 of thev roof to engage cooperating surfaces :which arelVformed on the upper lpor-tionsof the sidewalls |16- of the frame. Y

The burners I Ithatrarevusedinthe presentmachine may be of any `suitabletype, but they Yare preferablyr ofthe vtype disclosed in Hess Patent2,215,079, granted September 1'1, 1940, and reference may be made to-that patent for aidetailed description of theburners-andtheiroperation. Heatfrem the burners, as well as-the-exhaustgases resulting from'the combustion, are directed downwardly against thework as it is passing-under-fthe roof, andthe-work is thereby` heated toa degree'depending upon ythe time required for the work to move throughthe furnace chamber and thextemperature .at which the burners are'flred.Fuel is supplied to the individual burn-ers through pipes:.:22 vthat areconnected toy a manifoldv23. Valves 24 are provided in the .pipes Y22so'that nach burner may `beadjustedfindividuallyto prowideethefproperamountofrheat to form a definite heatrpatternifor lthework: that isbeingheated. It is'flnotedthat there is an opening 25 provided'izIliithe leitorgrearendgof 4the roof fin Figure 1 thltOllghWhiChtheProducts of combustionare withdrawn. YAny;suitable typeof suction meansmay be usedfor this-purpose, and as the products Qf;combustion aremovedztoward .thev rearv of the :roof :they/serve to :preheatthe work asit is :moved.intonositoil under the roof.

'Ighe floor :2 Of th-e ihating chambergincludes :a steel backing platethatv lis .suitably .reinforced with cross members 21. Lying againsttheface of the :plate 12.6 is .some:suitable heat i insulating material2Bfabove1which areplaced refractory' blocks l231-togform a refractoryfloor just below the work forwardingmechanism. This flooris also heatedfbythe heat radiated from the roof,.and tends to reflect heatupwardly'againstfthe'lowerportion of tthezworksasjtjs beingfmovedthrough fthe furnace '4 chamber. The front end of the floor is providedwith a passage 3| through which a combustible fuel can be supplied to aseries of burners 32 extending across the front of the floor. Theseburners are of the type which produce a flame and they serve the purposeof blanketing the front end of the furnace chamber to prevent an inflowof cool Iairjand also to give ,all 3.1331' heating to the work as it isbeing moved out of the' furnace and isbeyond the last of the burners I Iin the roof. The passage 3| is supplied with the combustible The roof asa whole is pivotevd oniafrod l The floor o f the furnace is mounted forpivotal Ymovement'in a clockwise direction from the position `shownvin1l:i gure l around a shaft 34 that is also mounted in the frameworkof the machine.

' 'Ihisflporisnormally held in the position shown b y means` of a iiuidoperated piston rod 35 and cylinders'SB that are pivotally connected tothe furnace floor and the machine frame respectively. Referring toFigure 2 Iitwillbeseen that the-plate 26' forming the bottom` ofthefloor extends. beyond each edge-of thexheating .chamber so that when.thefloor-is inA its normal pOition, this frame will-engage asurfaceformed onvthe` bottomgof the s-de framesl I6. 1f desired,;;suitablegaskets canvbe used topreventA an inflowl of airA` so; that thecombustion-chamber will notgbe subjected to the cooling effects ofair-which-inay leakizpast these joints throughout` the lengthof,;1thema.chine. :It fis noted that the tube 33 must be iiexi.- ble since-the oorcanzbe moved.

'The work vis :moved into thefu'rnace chamber from-the left `through anlentrance slotl A422k Which has-a water cooled upper A,wall 43. Astheswork, which in. this caseconsists of glass tubes,-moves through.this `slot itis fedpiece by piece .by feeding mechanismv 44 to thezsetsof feedrollers 45 and 46. Alternate Yrollers are -moved together so thatthe mounting means of all of the rollers 45..are -similar,-while themounting -meansof all of the, rollers `lII- are similar. These rollersare moved tovbothrotate the work and .forward-"it through the furnacechamber. Each r-of the rollers 45 is Ymounted on a shaft 45a, whereaseach of rollers `46 is'mounted onzashaft 46a. rIhe rollers of each:group orset are raised and lowered together and each roller is rotatedcontinuously. Rollers 45 and 46 and theirshaftsare made of a heatresisting alloy :that will withstand the temperatures encountered in thefurnace chamber.

The mounting means for the 'shafts 45a of rollers I5 .1(Figure 3)includes a casting or bracket 41 in which the left end of the .shaft is'journalled This casting is mounted for oscillation around a shaft 43that is fixed in an upwardly projecting portion `I9 of the frame. Thecasting or bracket inlwhch the right end of the shaft 45o-is mounted isindicated at 5l. This casting -is mounted for oscillation around Vshaft52v that in turnis vjournalled for-rotation in a bearing 53 projectingupwardly from the frame of 'the machine, as shown bestin Figures I2 andy3 of the drawing.

VRoller 45 is rotated by a gear 54 `that is attached to the right end ofshaft 45a. This gearis driven by an idler'gear 55-which -is mountedY ona stud shaftthat'is journalledfinthe casting, andthe idleris, inturn,-rotated by a gear 56 which is attached to the-inner end of shaft452. The outer end offshaft '52-has-mounted on it a vworm lgear 51that-is rotated by aworm 58 on a shaft 59, extendinglparallel tothe-sideof the machine and `j ournalled in suitable bearings.

Rollers IIE aremounted in a similar fashion to that described above inconnection with rollers andasse" 45 except that the driving mechanismfor these rollers is on theopposite'side or leftof the machine.rThr-right end of shaft 46a is mounted in a casting 4or bracket 6|,which `is -in turn mounted for oscillation on a` shaft 62 that pro-`jects from a support 63 extending upwardly from the frame..V The` leftend of shaft 46e isjournalled in a casting 84 that is, in turn,` mountedfor` oscillation around a shaft 65 which is journalled in a bearing 66projecting upwardly from the frame of the machine. Roller 46 is rotatedby means of agear 61 attached to theo'uter end of shaft 46a. This gearmeshes with idler 58 that is on a stud shaft journalled for rotation incast` ing 6.4and the-idler is in turn rotated by a gear 69 attached tothe inner end" of` shaft 85. The outer endof-shaft 65 has mountediuponit a .worm gear 1| that is rotated by a worm 12 on a'shaft 13 extendinglengthwise of the machine.`

1 `Each ofthe rollers 45 and 46 4i s rnounted in the same way forrotation around an axison a pair Y of castingswhile the castings uponwhich each roller is mounted are in turn o s'cillatablev around a centerthat is axiauy aligned with thenext adjacentshaft. Thus, while roller45, for example, is being rotar-edit c analsobe oscillated around anaxis that is in line with the axis of the next adjacent roller 46.

The castings41 and 84 are so `formed that there will be no interferencebetween them as theyare oscillatedfabout their respective-`shafts 48 and65. The same is true aboutcastings and 5|. It will be seehthat eachcasting` 4l has a generally U-shaped portion extending between its endjournalled o n shaft 4 8 andits end that receives shaft 4 5a. ,Casting64 also; has a .generallyfU- shaped portion between that portion thereofreceived en shaft (i5 and that portion which receives shaft 46a-1 The,U-Shapedrortion of Casting 41 extends downwardlywhile that of casting-64extends upwardly as? shown in Figures- Zand 4.` Therefore, while` thecastings have parts crossing each other as shown-in Figure 3, there willbe n ointerfer` ence as they are oscillated around their respectiveGenirse. .1.3` 'f Castings-i 1 5 and 6 |41 :are formed similarly I tocastings v4l and 64: respectively.Y Casting 6| has avdownwardlyextending `.llshaped portion between itsV ends, while castingr5| has an `upwardly extendingiJ-shaped portion between its ends.-

The rollersg45 are `raised and lowered in-arcs around shaftsti4 and 52,and;rollers;46 are raised and` lowered in arcs around shaft 62andi-.655111 order tov feed the-tubes through'Y thefurnace chamber. The`mechanism for oscillating; the rollers will-now be described.' p

. Each casting41 is provided with afdownwardly extending arm 41a and inalike manner castings 5| ,.l6| and 64 areprovided with downwardlyextendingl arms Ela, 6|a, and' 64a jrespectively. Since the rollers 45are mounted for movement together the lower ends ofthe arms 41a arejoined by means of a rod 14 extending parallel to the side of themachine whilethe lowerendsof arms 5|a are joinedv by a rod 'l5extendingparallel to the .other sideiof the machine.- In like manner arms4 Elaaref-joined by-a rod-16j `while anmsfB-fla are joined bylafrodll;Rods-14 and 15-arejmoved in -l unison to oscillate rollers 45simultaneously and rods 16 and -11 aremovedjin-unison to oscillaterollers `46 simultaneously. -jRodsA-M and 15 aremoved respectivelyfby'levers 'mand- 19 while rods 16 and 11 arelmoved respectively-bylevers 8| -and 82, Lever 1 8 is attached at its midpoint, as shown inFigure 2, to a sleeve 83 which serves 6 as its fulcrum, and this sleevelis journallediri; bearings 84 and 85 which extend downwardly from theframe of the machine. Lever 19 is free on a shaft 86 that in turn isjournalled in the sleeve 83, and levers 8| and 82 are journalled on` theouter ends of shaft 86. Levers 18 and '19 and sleeve 83 are oscillatedby cams81 and 88 to move the rollers 45. To this end the lower ends oflevers 18 and 19 are connected respectively-by links 89 and 9| to theupper end of levers 92and 93. These latter levers have pins 92a and 93arespectively which engage in cam slots formed in the faces of cams 8land 88.

In asimilar manner levers 8| and 82` are os-` Yeillated by cams 88 and81. To this end the lower ends of these levers are attached by links 96`and 91 lto theupper ends of levers 98 and 98. respectively. Levers 98and 99 are provided with pins 98a and 99a that extend into 'carri slotsformed on the opposite faces of cams 88 and 81 respectively. The lowerends of levers"'9`3'and 98 are journalled on a shaft |83 which in turnis held in position by supports |04. The lower ends of levers 82 and 99are mounted forosthat move levers 98 and 99` that only one set of theforwarding rollers are .being mov`ed`.at a time. Thus, when rollers 45are being movedA upwardly rollers 46 are still, and vice versa. The camgrooves are so'shaped that the moverrientl of the rollers is sufcient toshift a tubefrom one pair of rollers 45, 46 to an adjacentpair ofrollers 46, 45 in a manner to be described below. The last roller at theright. end of .the furnace chamber (Figure 1)` is rotated,.but-r`1 otmoved. vThus this roller provides `a definitely located dischargepointfromthe machine... .L

The feeding mechanism` `44ffor controlling .the supply of tubes passingthrough entrancefslot 42 Y'to `the forwarding `mechanism in the .furnacechamber is operated by the oscillation .of tube.83. in synchronism withthe movement of the rollers 45 and'46. The feeding mechanism consists.vof! a pair of fingers fand||2 which areaalternately projected into `thepath of Vmovement-of the tubes, as they are passing in Ythe "feedingslot 42` toward the furnace chamber. VFinger is pivoted at its lower endto a boss I 4 which-pro jects rearwardly 4from the tube 83V while lingerI2 is pivoted at its lower end to a boss |3iwhich projects `forwz-irdlyfrom sleeve 83. `As the sleeve is oscillated` in' the manner `describedY above the ngers will be raised and lowered. They, are guidediin their`movement by a `rod ||5 `that is suitablyfastened in the frame of themachine and passes through slots which are provided` for this purpose.It is noted from an inspection `of Figure 2 of the drawing that twosetsof the feeding-fingers are used, one on each side .of the machinetoward the ends of the feeding rollers' 45 and 46.v `These two parts ofthe feeding mechanism are operated-together and are bothoperated by thesleeve 83. vThis meansthat the tubes will be` maintained parallel to therollers 45 and 46 as they are permitted to move into the furnacechamber.

Thev mechanical construction of apreferred ElQIQQIlt-Of .the-..1flfchpe.115:5. bnde'elbed,

' ved that a description fthe inanch the variuspartsojerate will beItf'i's assumed' that the burners inthe f urnaee roof are operating andthat 'the furnace ohamberhas been brought up' to temperature. Some drivemeans, suchas an electric 1noto'r,' v is used to rotate shafts 5'9 and13 to rotate rollers 45 and 4,6 at asuitable speed. Drive means, whiehmaybe the Ysame ora different motoraots throughchain |08 torotate thecam shaft |05, an ansupply of tubes T vtol beheated has ybeen placed inthe entrance. slot 42 ofthe furnace chamber. The sequence ofoperationwill be vdesgibedinoonnection'with the diagrams of Figure'- 5inwhich the sequences are lettered'from A toII inclusive. It is notedthatthe lparts'of Athe mechanism vrin Figuresl tov lare'fshown in thepositionsthey assume in ldiagrams C and Got Fleuret- .esterne 81 and 88rotate they will eet. through the levers' and links mentioned above tomove rods 'Hand l5 forwardly and rearvvarllyin unison. and willalternately eet .to move rode 'mand H rearwardly and forwardly inunison. es rods 14 and 'l5 move forward rollersf45 will be r noved totheir lowposition shown in diagram Alof: rigore .Thenrodel and.Will'flole moved rearwardly to move rollers 46 to their Ahigh positionof diagram lA of Figure 5. Finger vvillbe in its low position and finger||2 will be in its high position, so that la tube vmay roll e. .11net.the .first roller 46 es Shown. et .11.111 diegram A. It is noted thatwhen this occurs roller 45 is `its up position .so that the tube willonly Inoveian short VVdistance and cannot get broken.' Continuedrotation of Vthecams will bring Vthe ro Iers to thefeame level as showninediagrarn B a then to; the relative positions of diagram nC withrollers 45 higher than rollers As this ooonrsljto'be l Inoves to the.right to loe eonnorted by the'second pair of rollers while tube IIisnpporteobvtne nrst noir of. rollers es .ehovnin diagrams C endD- Attneserne time llneer .l .Il has movedupward1y and ringer I j| 2 hasmoved @ovnverellr'to nlaoe .tnenezit tubeim position .to entertne..fornace .enemben -Continued .rotetlonof Gerne 81 enel et Will more therespe'otive groupsoi rollers 45and46 to the positions. shown in diagramE, and will at the same time lower finger Vl and raise nger I2. Thispermits a third tube III to move against the irstlroller '46. As therollers move to the pos ition -shovvnfin vdiagranl vF it will be seen'that tubes II and III are supported on the first threerollersyvhile-'tllere is a space between tubes II andI. As rollers 45are raised, however, tubes Iand II vmove to the right so that, as shownin diagrams Gand I-I, each tube is supported on a separate" pair ofrollers. This spacing i'slmaintained between the tubes during the entiretime they are 'moving through the furnace.

As noted above, ro1le`rs'45 and 46 are continually rotated as theyarebeingmovedhup and clown. This results inthe tubesbeing rotatedcontinually about their own axes as theyY 'are being moved through theheating acne.l Consequently the tubesare evenly heated all around andasthe tubes get soft toward the end of their path of travel there is notendency Afor them, to flatten due to their own weight.

Itis frequently `desirable to force airor some inert gas into the tubesas they are being moved through the furnace chamber. This may beaccomplished with Ythe.Present Innenne. by haring totes through. reignthe. eas is, .forced .attending gierig the Yflower portions "of'fjtejfwat cooled sides o`f the roolasshovvnat' These't'ubs' are,'provided with one or Amore outlets l 1' 'este tending'in the'directionof the aXisof the tubes and aligned therewith. By forcing fa:suitable gas through the tubes 'as theyare being heated; treatment of amaterial V inside the tubes vrrx'avbe aompusheu;

.ln-Fienresjo endif there .is shown another tute. of meoltonlent. foroperating .the rollersno'on whichthe tubes aremountedfas theyare movedthroughthe furnace chamber. thisern'b die nient of the 'de viee the.sets of Vrollers" are tiered llo.. andl Ienr rhenr'avinsonn one end ofeach of the sets otrollers' r`isshow' since the type Aof operatingniechanismffor of nd of ro1lers B is' eg'actlv the' samejas the' tyeofoperating mechanism o n the "oftherends' of V rolleis ||9 and viceversa.Alternate rollers are driven from opposite ends. Therefore a'description of the mounting and driving Vof o n'e" end `of each" of the'roursfenould be sortaient.' shaft I 18a' of roller r I |`8 is mountedin Llishap'ed supporting member 12| which has adownvvardlyeiitfendingarm |22. This member is pivotedon a shaft`|23 thatis in turn pivotd infabearing '|2412' Roller ||8 is driven "by means 4of asprocket '|2533'.-taehed to the end of its nshaft 4and' 'a second sprocket |26 that is onthe' innerend' of shaft |23. These sprockets are 'connected by "a 'chain|21. -Shaft |23 extends'through the'bearing |24 and hasa second sprocket|'23on itsiouter'end. This "sr'nocket',v along with the other sprockets`|28 for theV various" rollers "l I8 is drivenVV by achain |29 whicheXtends' doWnthe length of themachine, arid is inturn drivenin'asuitable manner aY similar chain" n the 'other side of the machne.

Shaft |9a for roller ||9 is received in a bearing formed'on one arin |3|of 'an Ill-shaped'mehrber whose otherv arm'is indicated 'at' |32.VV Thismember is pivoted 'to'tu'rn" about aishaftv |33 that is journalled in abearingfl 34." v The lower end of arms" |22 are'fastend togethento beVmoved in unison as are lthe lower ends of arms |32 so thatfthe varioussets of rollers'can be moved in unison.4 The' means for moving arms |22'com; prises a rod |35 that ispivotally attachedto their lower ends andextends lengthwise o'fthe machine." Thisfrod has "an enlarged head '|36on one end of it. Ina like manner theris provided a vred |31 which isf'astenedto the'low'er end' :of the arms |32,'fthat has' on its 'end anenlarge'- ment shown at |38'. These rods are nove'dhawk and forth'in'ahorizontal direction in order to oscillate the roll holdingmerbersaridto' there# foreraise and lower these rollers, by means'Y of a disc |39that is mounted on a shaft |40. This disc has a drive' roller projectingfrom each 'face with one roller |4| 'engaging the flat surface'ofthe'enlar'gement |3|1l andthe other roller |42 IrrtheV operation ofthedevice disc `|39 is rotated, and as itfrot'ates the rollers |4| and |42wmauernately move the' rods '|36 andV |31v ma hormonen direction. -js i1 1ce jone`ro11e'r is on one side ofthe disc andthe other roller is(n-the other side Yof the disc-the tworods will be moved inoppositedirectionsl'i This movementis imparted through the supportingAmembers" for the rollers ||8 and r| I9 to raise and llower the rollersalternately, and therefore to movev tubes through teorema@ in j mannersimuar to that' de- `9 scribed indetail in connectionwith theembodiments of the invention of Figures 1 to 5 inclusive. It isA notedthat shaft |40 will prevent lmovement to the right` of the enlargedportions ofthe rods |35 and |31 beyond the position of theshaft. Thismeans that the rollers ||8 and H9 in their positions shown in FigureGare at approximately the lowest position that they will assume. Whendrive rollers |4| and |42 move to theleft of shaft |40, however, theyWill move the rods |35 and |31 through the full length of the strokedependent upon the radial `distance ofthe drive rollers from shaft |48.l A

It will be seen that in this embodimentof .the invention as well as inthe previously described one a means is provided forl rotating the `workforwarding rollers as their supports are being oscillated around aseries of shafts. work is progressively moved through the furnacechamber while it is being rotated.

In each embodiment of the invention there is provided a compactmheatingmechanism by means of which tubes or rods may be heated to a temperaturedepending upon the treatment to which they are being subjected. Theheating of the work will be dependent upon the speed with which it ismoved through the furnace as well as Vthe temperature of the burners.. sf

It snoted that only those parts of the mechanismthat are designed towithstand the temiperature of the furnace chamber are located therein.The remaining parts of the mechanism are outside ,of the chamber andprotected therefrozrrbywater' cooled'w'allsor the refractory work of thefurnace chamber." Another advantage of the described construction Aisthat those parts ,of the machine which are located in the furnacechamber remain in thechamber so that the heat they absorb will not belost, as would bethe case, for examplauwith a chain type or ai car typework transporting mechanism.A

`While in accordance Virl/ith `the provisions of the statutes, I haveillustrated and described `the best form of embodiment of my inventionnow `known to me, it will be` apparent to those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed withoutdeparting from the spiritandV scope of the invention, as set forth'in`the appended claims, and: that in some caseswcertain features ofmyinvention maybe usedto advantage without` a corresponding use of otherfeatures.

` What is claimed is:

1.3Apparatus`for moving cylindrical objects through a heating structureincluding a furnace chamber having an entrance and an exit at oppositeends comprising in combination means to transport said objects throughthe structure including a plurality of elongated members extending inparallel relation across the chamber,

each adjacent pair of members serving to support jointly an object,means to lift said members in sequence to move an object supported by anadjacent pair of members to the next adjacent pair of `members in thedirection toward the exit of the chamber, feed means to feed saidobjects one at a time to the entrance of the chamber, and means tosynchronize the operation of said feed means and said lifting means sothat an object is fed to the entrance of the chamber as the memberadjacent the entrance thereof is in its lifted position.

2. Apparatus for supporting and moving cylindrical objects through anelongated work zone comprising a plurality of elongated members. a

Thus, the V geteste 10 bracket on each end lof each member to supportthe same, means to mount each `bracket for pivotal movement around anaxis concentric with themember next to the member supported by a givenbracket, means to connect the `brackets supporting alternatel membersfor movement together, and means tok move in sequence'said connectingmeans whereby alternate` ones of said members will be raised to rollobjects thereon from'. one member to the other through said work Yzone.

"BLApparatus according to claim 2 including `means to rotatecontinuously said members.

. .4. Apparatus for moving Vcylindrical objectsl ject jfrom one pair ofmembers toan adjacent pair of members;

5; Apparatus formoving Vcylindricalobjects :through a heating structureincludingla furnace chamber having an entrancefor said objects at oneend, and an exit at the other end comprising combination "supporting andc transporting mechanism located in the chamber Vto movethe objects fromthe entranceV to the exit-V thereof including a plurality of rollers,pivoted means to support' individually said rollers, and `means-to move'simultaneously alternate ones of said supports around their pivots toraise rollers carried thereby abovethe level ofthe remaining "rollerswhereby objectsare rolled progressivelyfualong said rollers. c

tus according to -claim- 5 5 including i` 6. Appara continuously saidrollers. 7;;Apparatus `to move cylindrical l objects through atreatingrstructure including-a chammeans carried by said supportingmeans to rotate ber'having an entrance at one end andan exit atltheopposite end comprising in combination supporting and transportingmechanism'forirthe objects located in the structure, said mecha- `nismincluding a plurality of parallelrollers, in-

dividual supporting means for each `rollerarrcl means to` move insequence Athe supporting means for alternate -ones of said` rollers-toraise first one group of rollers and then the other group of rollersabove a given normal level thereof whereby objects on said rollers areprogressively moved from the entrance end of the structure to the exitthereof.

8. Apparatus according to claim 'I including supply means for saidobjects to supply a single obj ect at a time to the structure, andmechanism cooperating with said moving means to operate said supplymeans only when the roller adjacent thereto is in its raised position.

9. Apparatus to move cylindrical objects through a work zone including achamber having an entrance at one end and an exit at the opposite endthereof comprising in combination a plurality of rollers, means to mountsaid rollers in the chamber for rotary movement around their axes andfor lateral movement parallel to their axes, means to move alternateones of said rollers from a normal position to a position higher thansaid normal position to throw objects from between one pair of rollersto between the next pair, and means to rotate said rollers while theyare being moved. y 10. Apparatus for moving cylindrical objects Ithrougha work zone including a chamber havan entrance at one end and an exit atthe other comprising in combination supporting and conveying means tomove objects through the chamber including a plurality of elongatedmembers, means to mount individually said Inembersparallel to eachother, means to sup- -port said mounting means for pivotal movementwhereby said members will be raised above a normal position as saidmounting means is pVoted, mechanism to pivot said mounting meansincluding Parts connected to alternate ones of saidmo'unting meanswhereby as said mechanis'r'n is operated alternateones of 'saidmemberswill be raised,A and means to rotate said members continuously. Y

1 1 Apparatus f or moving cylindrical objects Sthrough an elongatedchamber having an `entranceat one end and an exit at Athe opposite end,supporting and transferring mechanism to move objects through saidchamber including a plurality of elongated cylindrical members, means tomount said members in parallel rela- -ijliinmacross said chamber, anobject being sup- .ported jointly by two members, means operativeto movesimultaneously alternate ones of said members to a position above anormal position to s l 1ift objects supported thereby tothe next pair ofmembers, and Vmeans to rotate continuously each of said members.

v1 2. Apparatusfor supporting and moving cylindrical objects through anelongated work Zone comprising a plurality of elongated members adaptedto support an object jointly between adjacent members, means to mountsaid members in parallel relation to each other including a vbracketon'each end of each member, means to support eachof said brackets forpivotal movement around an axis concentric with the member next to themember supported by a given bracket, andmeans to pivot in sequenceadjacent pairs Q ibrackets supporting a member to therebyraisesuccessive members to a level above a v normal level to therebymove objects from one pair of members to an adjacent pair of members.

13 Apparatus for supporting and moving cylindrical objects through anelongated work zonercomprising a plurality ofelongatedmembers adjacentones of which support jointly an 12 Y e 4 object, a'bracketjournalle'dfo'n 'each'end'cf each member, means toy pivotally supprt'eaeh bracket for rotation around an axis coaxialwith the memberadjacent' the one supported'by'a pair of brackets, means to movealternate'fpairs of brackets mounting a "single `member around theirpivots to thereby move 'an v'object partially supported thereby'to anadjacent pair ofin'embers.

14. Apparatus according to'claimlincluding means to rotate 4eachof saidmembers in their respective brackets whereby objects will be rotated asthey are moved from onerrenber to the other through saidwork zone.

1 5. Apparatus yfor moving cylindrical objeets through a work zonecomprising 4in cinbinatiori, supporting and forwarding mechanism"located continuously in said zonev y comprising "a plurality ofelongated members located in parallel -rela'i tion and extendingV acrosssaid 'zone' with-the ends thereof extending outside 'of said Zone,brackets to mount each endof saidfmernbers'ffor rotation about its axis,and means to move-"the rpairs of brackets supporting 'each member4v'from a normal position through ya path concentric with the vnormalposition of the-*next member'iin la'direction toward the exit end olfsaid zone', Yand means to operatefsaid movingme'ans tci'moveiacljacentmembers i alternately through said -Dth.

JAMES W. GARRETVI.

REFERENCES CITED The 'following references are of 'record :in "the le ofthis patent:

UNITED sTArIrs P'2riir1'y"'sN OTHER REFERENCES Trinks, IndustrialFurnaces. vo1.vI,-`2nd ed., June 1944, page 244. (Copy in Div. 30.)

